1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to print terminals, print systems, storage media, and programs for printing image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, images obtained by, for example, digital still cameras and those read by scanners are rectangular in shape. For printing the images on sheet-like print media such as print paper by print apparatuses such as printers, the orientations of images to be actually printed (hereinafter referred to as “print images”) and the orientations (feeding directions) of the print media are often adjusted to coincide with each other. Therefore, some known apparatuses are provided with functions for changing the orientations of print images and print media in applications (such as printer drivers) running on the displays of personal computers and printers.
For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-37798 discloses a print apparatus provided with an image rotation button and a paper shift/rotation button. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2000-78394 discloses an apparatus with an image rotation button, while Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 11-341272 discloses an image processing method including a step of image rotation.
Subject images obtained by, for example, a digital still camera are in vertical or horizontal orientation depending on the position of the camera at the time of shooting (when the shutter is pressed). For example, shooting of a head-to-toe picture of a standing person by using a camera in a horizontal position produces, as shown in FIG. 6A, a horizontally-oriented rectangular image in which the person's head and toes are positioned at the top and bottom, respectively (hereinafter referred to as a “first image”). On the other hand, the camera in a vertical position produces, as shown in FIG. 6B, a horizontally-oriented rectangular image in which the person's head and toes are positioned on the left and right, respectively (hereinafter referred to as a “second image”), or conversely, the head and toes are positioned on the right and left, respectively.
Here, a horizontally-oriented rectangular image, whose horizontal sides are longer than its vertical sides, is defined as a landscape image, while a vertically-oriented rectangular image, whose vertical sides are longer than its horizontal sides, is defined as a portrait image. In this case, the first image and the second image shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, respectively, can be changed from landscape images to portrait images by 90-degree rotation of the images. Images obtained by, for example, a digital still camera are normally landscape images. Subject images are stored, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, depending on the position of the camera at the time of shooting. In printer settings of an application such as a printer driver, the orientation of a sheet serving as a print medium can be changed from portrait to landscape or from landscape to portrait.
Therefore, when a print image is in landscape orientation and a print medium is in portrait orientation, the orientation of the print image is changed to portrait with reference to the orientation of the print medium, or the orientation of the print medium is changed to landscape with reference to the orientation of the print image, thereby matching the orientations of both the print image and the print medium.
When a print medium is initially in landscape orientation in printer settings of an application such as a printer driver, and if a printer accommodates only a print medium in portrait orientation, the orientation of the print medium needs to be changed to portrait in the printer settings. In this case, when an image obtained by shooting with a digital still camera in vertical position (for example, FIG. 6B) is to be printed, the orientation of the image needs to be changed, in accordance with the print medium, from landscape to portrait. Since, in known techniques, this involves individual rotation of the print-medium image and the print image, the user operation is complicated.